The Paladin in the Abyss-Chapter 676 - 700 Hell Knight

Chapter 676: Chapter 700 Hell Knight

(Had drinks tonight, really running late, will update now and revise later, give me twenty minutes, and I’ll delete this note after fixing this segment.)

Lancelot knew that man didn’t suddenly develop a sense of sacrifice, he had fallen under the charm abilities of the Succubus. He had just experienced the same thing himself, the only difference was that he had resisted, while that Tiflin had not.

That being said, Kalalin had once mentioned that most Succubi would choose to flee at the first sign of battle. If flight was not an option, they would use their charm abilities to manipulate nearby creatures into fighting to protect themselves. Those war-hungry Succubi from Twin Bridges Town, represented by Tijana, were complete outliers. Some even suspected they were similar to other devils, actually another kind of Demon, but Kalalin was certain that this hypothesis had no basis, and Alamir confirmed this for him—Succubi from Twin Bridges Town were no different from those from other places, at least not physiologically.

“Charge!”

Lancelot gave the command to attack and was the first to carry it out, which was how he differed from most commanders. The Human Knight charged into the battlefield like a meteor, delivering an unstoppable shoulder slash that cleaved the nearest Beard Demon from skull to groin.

This impactful entrance left both sides briefly stunned, and that was exactly what Lancelot had aimed for. Without pausing, he stepped fiercely forward and his Longsword followed in an Upper Slash, striking between the thighs of the second Beard Demon. The enemy’s body stiffened from the severe pain, which conveniently allowed Lancelot to smoothly retrieve his sword. Twisting the end of the sword hilt with his left hand, the blade drew a complete circle in the air before coming to rest in the Demon’s chin, which bore snakelike pseudopods.

Lancelot kicked away the corpse whose head had been split in two and turned to charge at a third foe. A Rune Greatsword swung abruptly to block his way, forcing Lancelot to immediately halt and change his attack into a block. The roar of clashing metal erupted the next second, the immense force pushing him back as his Steel Boots scraped flashing sparks on the stone ground, leaving two long black streaks.

“A worthy opponent, who are you?” the Demon squad commander spoke, using the common tongue, “Why do you help these filthy wretches?”

“And who are you?” Lancelot placed the Hand Half Sword on his shoulder, “How can you command a bunch of murderers from the Nine Hells?”

“Carnage is a means to establish order; chaos must be utterly shattered, and the noble Bartez share the same belief as I,” the Hell Knight replied in a harsh and cold voice. “There is only one fate for those who oppose us—complete annihilation. Yet clearly, you are different from those filthy commoners; you have the blood of nobility flowing in your veins. Kneel and swear fealty to the great Lord of Darkness, and all the sins you’ve committed against the Nine Hells will be erased…”

“What a boastful claim.” Lancelot fought the urge to roll his eyes, “The ‘sins’ I’ve committed against Demons, I fear you have no authority to forgive…”

While they conversed, the rest of his companions caught up and launched an assault on the remaining Beard Demons and Hellhounds. Seeing this, the Hell Knight performed a simple gesture, lighting up a red Scepter symbol on his forearm. In Lancelot’s perception, the Demon Commander’s image became extremely horrifying, as if many unseen hands wished to grasp his neck and limbs, making it hard to breathe, impossible to move. The power of this fear was so intense, even surpassing the terrifying presence of an ancient White Dragon, that Lancelot had to focus all his effort on running the Ice Heart Technique, squeezing all emotion from his consciousness, barely withstanding that force.

However, while he could remain unaffected, the others weren’t so lucky, and this Hell Knight’s Fear ability had a special trait: ordinary Fear would compel the affected person to flee involuntarily from the source of their Fear, but the Fear he generated was so intense that it could leave people completely immobile. Needless to say, such an effect could bring about a considerable advantage during group combat, as the enemy would be forced to stand their ground and fight, rather than scattering like startled hens.

At this moment, the Demon side still had four Beard Demons and two Hellhounds, and the Hell Knight’s oppressive Fear was an area effect, rendering everyone incapable of movement. The situation turned extremely perilous instantly—if Lancelot were to be delayed, those Low Rank Demons, who were not much of a threat originally, could now inflict serious harm on his companions.

The Ice Heart Technique came with an additional benefit, granting the Cultivator an extremely calm state of mind when activated. Realizing the disadvantage his side was facing, Lancelot immediately thought of a countermeasure: pretend to be affected as well, making the Demon Commander believe he had the situation under control, betting that the latter’s pride would prevent him from attacking right away and instead delegate the killing to his underlings.

His gamble paid off.

The knight enveloped in black mist stayed put, while three Beard Demons and one Hellhound lunged at the four individuals. Lancelot waited until the last moment to act, his figure flashing away from the Large Cleaver swung at him, but instead of taking the chance to strike back, he thrust his sword at another Beard Demon that was about to attack the Elf Priest.

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The Longsword pierced through the purple-skinned cheek, easily shaving off most of the Demon’s head. Not far away, the Hell Knight roared in anger and charged over with his Greatsword, but he was too late to stop Lancelot from bisecting the Beard Demon in front of the Half-elf.

The belated Greatsword finally fell, and taking advantage of the momentum from his charge, Lancelot spun around, his sword meeting his opponent’s weapon. The grating sound of Metal clashing echoed once more, but this time it was the Hell Knight who suffered; he stumbled backward several steps, helplessly watching his adversary perform a graceful spin, cleaving the last following Beard Demon into two halves.

As for Bruto, Lancelot had great confidence in the Dwarf’s toughness, and if the Hellhound did manage to inflict any damage, it would only trigger Bruto’s Berserk State under the pain’s stimulation. In that state, the Barbarian would be almost senseless, his fighting spirit ignited to the point of lunacy, desiring nothing more than to smash any enemy within sight into a pulp, oblivious to the concept of fear.

“You dare to mock me!” the Hell Knight glared furiously at Lancelot, “You despicable, shameless mortal!”

“Are you accusing me?” Lancelot shrugged, “I’m terribly sorry, it seems the Abyss truly does change everyone…”

“Hmph, foolish. I had intended to offer you the glory of serving the Nine Hells, but now I’ve changed my mind…” The Hell Knight caressed his Greatsword, and a golden light that Lancelot was very familiar with lit up on the blade, “Complete death and destruction, that’s what you deserve…”